Images: India vs Sri Lanka, Day 4

Muralitharan picks 67th five-wicket haul

Muttiah Muralitharan scalped six wickets in his last match to put Sri Lanka within sniffing distance of a victory at Galle on Wednesday.

Muralitharan claimed of 5 for 63 in the first innings and added another wicket - that of Yuvraj Singh - in the second to be just two short of the 800-mark as India were skittled out for 276 in their first innings in response to the home team's total of 520 for eight declared.

The retiring off-spinner took a five-wicket haul for the 67th time in his career as India failed to cross the limit required to avoid follow on.

Despite being armed by some of the best Test batsmen, India have not able to make it a fight against the hosts, who look determined to make it a memorable swansong game for their star Muralitharan.

With 63 runs still required to avoid the embarassment of an innings defeat, the result seems all the more obvious.

Image: Mutthiah Muralitharan walks off after picking five wickets at the end of India's first inningsPhotographs: Reuters

The hosts dominated proceedings at Galle

Like on all the other days, the hosts dominated the proceedings by first dismissing the Indians cheaply in the first innings and tightening the grip on the match by evicting the two openers in quick succesion.

Resuming at the overnight score of 140 for three, the Indians lost wickets at regular intervals in the pre-lunch session to allow the home team to gain complete control.

And the batting in the second innings has been equally disappointing, save Tendulkar and Dravid.

As a result, the visitors are faced with a daunting task of saving the first cricket Test